US consulate employee remanded in Turkey over PKK links

By Halil Ibrahim Sincar

MARDIN, Turkey

An employee of the U.S. consulate in Turkey’s southern Adana province has been remanded in custody over alleged links to the PKK terrorist organization, according to a judicial source on Tuesday.

Hamza Ulucay, employed as a translator by the U.S. Consulate in Adana, was detained on Feb. 23 on the suspicion of attempting to incite people through provocative demonstrations on behalf of PKK, and later released under judicial control.

He was arrested after a top PKK figure codenamed Behzat was killed in southeastern Mardin province. The suspect allegedly went to Mardin after the killing and incited people in favor of PKK.

According to the source, who wished to stay anonymous due to restrictions on talking to the media, Tuesday's remand followed an objection by the public prosecutor in Mardin against Ulucay's release.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU -- resumed its armed campaign in July 2015 and since then has been responsible for the deaths of more than 1,200 security forces personnel and civilians, including women and children.